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DJI Neo review – a drone that can do everything, and land in your hand

27 points by walterbell 2y ago

echelon 2y ago
Drones are going to be a key technology for the foreseeable future: they have incredible consumer, industrial, logistics, military applications, and beyond. Does the US have a horse in the race, or have China and DJI taken most of the market? I recall that both Snapchat and GoPro tried to build this exact use case but failed dramatically. Were they too early? Do we struggle with doing drones well here? It seems like a core technology we should care about.
- 0x457 2y ago
  I think it when software company tries to do hardware and vice-versa In DJI drones, camera functionality and drone functionality works well together Even in their FPV drones. Can't say the same for GoPro. They make good action cameras, but those don't require constant user interaction with them while in use. I have this klipsch in-ear phones that sound nice, they fit me well, but holyshit the app is pure trash. I think at its root is the same problem.
- JieJie 2y ago
  Sometimes it seems as if convenience and price are the technologies that are at the top of the list of consumers in the US market, and that other considerations come in a distant third. We seem to pay little attention to our collective goodwill these days. I hope we can start putting our money where our mouth is, though. (Adding on instead of making a new comment) These are the kind of personal robots I am more interested in. I'm imagining an autonomous, voice-controlled (this isn't exactly that, but it's very close) little robot buddy, like a Destiny 2 Ghost. This is productized to be something different than that, but maybe this is a closer form factor (with what seems like useful protective nacelles to prevent it from damaging its environment). It has wifi, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to have a 5G modem in a more expensive model (DJI has a deep bench at this point, all the way up to agriculture and delivery drones that have serious radio communication arrays). I feel like with all the companies rushing to humanoid robotics, there should be a place for alternate forms like little drone buddies? There seems like there could be a really sweet price-to-performance ratio that could open up a $1K or 2K personal robot that isn’t about doing tasks, but about remote sensing and processing?
  - traverseda 2y ago
    It is very loud. You'll have trouble hearing yourself in a room with it, let alone having it hear you.
- groby_b 2y ago
  No US drone capability in the sub-$1000 market, AFAIK. Which basically means consumer is dead. There are a few manufacturers for pro/semi-pro (Skydio comes to mind), but they are sure expensive. My guess is that we struggle with the manufacturing part. It's hard to be in any way competitive with somebody who's got a much bigger scale, in a market that's got razor-thin margins. It doesn't help that GoPro has always struggled with quality issues, and for their drones that meant they just kept falling out of the sky - not a great way to win the market. And Snapchat's Pixy was a fire hazard, with a recall of every single one of them. But that also means we'll continue to fall behind on non-consumer applications, because there are no cheap platforms to experiment on. (Sure, General Atomics will continue to build, but rapid innovation is hard) On the upside, there's no YC company aiming for that platform play, so get your pitch decks in while it's hot ;) Good luck, though. Manufacturing is hard, consumer manufacturing harder, making flying things gets you a fun regulatory environment. If I were to pitch, I'd probably talk to drone-related startups, figure out what their current platform is, what their needs are, what demand is, and if it makes financial sense to offer a slightly cheaper platform in that space first.
- freetinker 2y ago
  US player Skydio seems pretty interesting - for non-consumer applications anyway.
hiatus 2y ago
The typo at the end is hilarious. > Don't buy this if... > You're looking for high-fidelity photo and video > You want a drone with long flight times and maximum range > You
Aaargh20318 2y ago
I’ve been tempted to get a drone by falling prices. However, living in a small, densely populated country (the Netherlands) drones are practically useless. Looking at a map of no-fly zones for drones, they cover almost the entire country. The few spots where flying a drone is allowed have nothing worth photographing in them, unless you’re very interested in aerial photographs of fields with cows in them. Such a shame, because it seems like a really fun thing to play around with.
- sebazzz 2y ago
  Yes, but the no-fly zones are too strict because they apply to any altitude - even 5 to 10 meters above the ground. You are not allowed to fly a drone in your own garden or street. You can fly it in your own home. But it is not like a plane or helicoper is going to fly 10 meters above your street.

27 points by walterbell 2y ago

Drones are going to be a key technology for the foreseeable future: they have incredible consumer, industrial, logistics, military applications, and beyond. Does the US have a horse in the race, or have China and DJI taken most of the market? I recall that both Snapchat and GoPro tried to build this exact use case but failed dramatically. Were they too early? Do we struggle with doing drones well here? It seems like a core technology we should care about.

0x457 2y ago
I think it when software company tries to do hardware and vice-versa In DJI drones, camera functionality and drone functionality works well together Even in their FPV drones. Can't say the same for GoPro. They make good action cameras, but those don't require constant user interaction with them while in use. I have this klipsch in-ear phones that sound nice, they fit me well, but holyshit the app is pure trash. I think at its root is the same problem.
JieJie 2y ago
Sometimes it seems as if convenience and price are the technologies that are at the top of the list of consumers in the US market, and that other considerations come in a distant third. We seem to pay little attention to our collective goodwill these days. I hope we can start putting our money where our mouth is, though. (Adding on instead of making a new comment) These are the kind of personal robots I am more interested in. I'm imagining an autonomous, voice-controlled (this isn't exactly that, but it's very close) little robot buddy, like a Destiny 2 Ghost. This is productized to be something different than that, but maybe this is a closer form factor (with what seems like useful protective nacelles to prevent it from damaging its environment). It has wifi, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to have a 5G modem in a more expensive model (DJI has a deep bench at this point, all the way up to agriculture and delivery drones that have serious radio communication arrays). I feel like with all the companies rushing to humanoid robotics, there should be a place for alternate forms like little drone buddies? There seems like there could be a really sweet price-to-performance ratio that could open up a $1K or 2K personal robot that isn’t about doing tasks, but about remote sensing and processing?
- traverseda 2y ago
  It is very loud. You'll have trouble hearing yourself in a room with it, let alone having it hear you.
groby_b 2y ago
No US drone capability in the sub-$1000 market, AFAIK. Which basically means consumer is dead. There are a few manufacturers for pro/semi-pro (Skydio comes to mind), but they are sure expensive. My guess is that we struggle with the manufacturing part. It's hard to be in any way competitive with somebody who's got a much bigger scale, in a market that's got razor-thin margins. It doesn't help that GoPro has always struggled with quality issues, and for their drones that meant they just kept falling out of the sky - not a great way to win the market. And Snapchat's Pixy was a fire hazard, with a recall of every single one of them. But that also means we'll continue to fall behind on non-consumer applications, because there are no cheap platforms to experiment on. (Sure, General Atomics will continue to build, but rapid innovation is hard) On the upside, there's no YC company aiming for that platform play, so get your pitch decks in while it's hot ;) Good luck, though. Manufacturing is hard, consumer manufacturing harder, making flying things gets you a fun regulatory environment. If I were to pitch, I'd probably talk to drone-related startups, figure out what their current platform is, what their needs are, what demand is, and if it makes financial sense to offer a slightly cheaper platform in that space first.
freetinker 2y ago
US player Skydio seems pretty interesting - for non-consumer applications anyway.

hiatus 2y ago

The typo at the end is hilarious. > Don't buy this if... > You're looking for high-fidelity photo and video > You want a drone with long flight times and maximum range > You

Aaargh20318 2y ago

I’ve been tempted to get a drone by falling prices. However, living in a small, densely populated country (the Netherlands) drones are practically useless. Looking at a map of no-fly zones for drones, they cover almost the entire country. The few spots where flying a drone is allowed have nothing worth photographing in them, unless you’re very interested in aerial photographs of fields with cows in them. Such a shame, because it seems like a really fun thing to play around with.

sebazzz 2y ago
Yes, but the no-fly zones are too strict because they apply to any altitude - even 5 to 10 meters above the ground. You are not allowed to fly a drone in your own garden or street. You can fly it in your own home. But it is not like a plane or helicoper is going to fly 10 meters above your street.